A. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of fire hose clamping devices for use by firemen when fighting a fire.
B. Discussion of the Prior Art
As a preliminary note, it should be stated that there is an ample amount of prior art that deals with fire hose holding apparatuses. As will be discussed below, no piece of prior art discloses a fire hose holding apparatus that has in addition to a handle, a squeezing clamp that enables the apparatus to be moved along the fire hose without disengaging the apparatus from the fire hose.
The Ganung et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,470,177) discloses a fire hose clamp provided with a hand grip for firemen for use on a fire hose when fighting a fire to resist the back pressure acting on the hose. The device has a rubber insert to prevent it from slipping on the hose. However, the rubber insert is not spring-loaded in order to place a clamping force on the hose when in use, and of which can be removed to slide the apparatus along the fire hose.
The Lancaster (U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,834) discloses a quick release clamp to easily receive, slide upon, and secure a fire hose with any moving parts. However, the no-moving parts clamp relies on an open end of said clamp to enable the hose to enter and exit as opposed to a holding apparatus that uses a rubber clamp that is spring-loaded along with a locking clasp to secure the apparatus about the fire hose.
The Labonville (U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,757) discloses a fire hose clamp that has two flexible straps permanently connected at their upper ends by a pivotal lever and detachably connected at their lower ends by means of a pawl and ratchet assembly. However, the fire hose clamp uses a pawl and ratchet assembly as opposed to a locking clasp. Also, the fire hose clamp does not have a handle but a strap to be worn about a firefighter's neck.
The Landry (U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,492) discloses an improved hose gripping tool for use with high pressure hoses, such as fire hoses. However, the hose gripping tool involves no moving parts and is not secured upon a hose by a locking clasp or a spring-loaded rubber insert as a means of securing the fire hose in place with respect to the holding apparatus.
The Love (U.S. Pat. No. 2,775,806) discloses an adjustable girth clamping ring. The girth clamping ring does not include a handle, and also does not secure itself about a tubular object by a locking clasp. In addition, the clamping ring docs not include a rubber insert that has a biasing force placed upon the fire hose by a single or plurality of springs, which secures the fire hose in place with respect to the holding apparatus.
The Winter (U.S. Pat. No. 2,018,906) discloses a hose clamp that can be locked in place upon said hose. Again, the hose clamp does not include a handle, and also does not secure itself about a tubular object by a locking apparatus that involves a spring-loaded rubber insert with a locking clasp.
The Huffine (U.S. Pat. No. Des. 360,128) illustrates a design for a fire hose gripping tool, which does not illustrate a locking clasp nor a spring-loaded rubber insert.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective and particular objects and requirements, they do not describe a fire hose holding apparatus that has a handle, locking clasp, and spring-loaded rubber insert that enables the apparatus to slide along the fire hose by pulling back the springs located between the apparatus and the rubber insert. Some of the prior art used a separate locking apparatus or a no-moving part assembly. In this regard, the fire hose holding apparatus departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art.